


Misconception

by holybeans



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Coming Out, F/F, Fluff, Humanstuck, Internalized Homophobia, Kinda, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-04 09:30:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15838479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holybeans/pseuds/holybeans
Summary: In which Dave pesters his sister about his roommate troubles, and it all goes downhill from there.





	Misconception

Your name is Dave Strider and you just busted into your sister’s apartment on a mission.

“Rose I think I’m homophobic and I don’t know what to do.”

A beat passes.

“Pardon?” She inquires, pausing her teacup’s ascent towards her mouth. She looks confused enough that you know she’s not fucking with you, so you keep going as you move to sit on the couch across from her chair.

“Okay I know it sounds stupid as shit and I thought this would be chill right like okay my roomate occasionally brings home guys and does some gay shit that’s totally fine with me I don’t care who Karkat puts his dick in or whatever the fuck it doesn’t bother me. But here’s the thing Rose, get this. It does. It bothers me and now I’m a homophobic asshole who can’t even look his bro in the eye without feeling guilty.”

Rose actually has the audacity to sip her tea in the middle of your spiel about how you’re the worst human being alive. Seriously, who does she think she is? You’re having a crisis in front of her, practically sobbing on your knees, and she looks you in the eye and drinks your tea? Jesus, you really do sound more and more like Karkat every damn day.

She puts down her cup and folds her hands into her lap, and ponders a bit before answering. “My dear brother, I’m afraid to have to tell you this, and I’m so sorry you have to here it, but you are not homophobic.”

Now it’s your turn to “pardon” because did she not hear what you just said?

“However, I won’t dismiss your worries yet, I don’t nearly have enough of the story. Would you care to share more with just how Karkat bringing home these men makes you feel?” Her tone is borderline teasing, but her face was genuine enough. You send her a warning just in case.

“Rose if you bring up anything regarding feelings so help me I am Out. And... it’s not just guys cause he’s like pansexual or whatever the fuck, its girls too. Sometimes Terezi comes over she she like lowkey flirts with him and he kinda flirts back like fuck you two why not just get a room and have sloppy loud sex while I chill on the couch it’s no biggie I can just record and use it for future blackmail. But they don’t even do shit like that Rose. They just hang out doing fuck all and there’s nothing gay about it but I still get upset and then have to wonder ‘damn maybe I just hate Karkat’ which would be really fucking unfortunate because that dude is like my main man. My one and only bro. The Sweet Bro to my Hella Jeff, if you will. Wait no scratch that last one, that sounds gay as fuck.”

“I see. Do you experience similar feelings when he brings home other males? And what activities do they usually partake in?” Rose sat as if she was completely invested in the story and practically begging to hear more, but the ever present sarcastic glint in her eye tells you otherwise. You decide to ignore it.

“Shit Rose, it only gets worse. Fucking Sollux will come over to play games or something, right? Him and Karkat have been friends for like ever so if there was anything blossoming there they certainly would’ve already jumped the gun and would be sucking face right in front of me, video game forgotten, but they aren’t. Karkat is yelling and Sollux is destroying him at Mario Kart and it takes all of my will power, which frankly is pathetic fucking shit Dave what’s gotten into you, not to fucking shove him out the door when he nudges Karkat’s shoulder in a friendly, ‘told you I could kick your ass for the zillionth time’ way. Wow that makes me sound all kinds of aggressive, maybe the real problem is I’m turning into Karkat and wanna take him out because ‘there can be only one.’ Actually nah that just sounds like one of John’s stupid movies. He’d get a real kick out of that line huh, be all Con Air Nick Cage up in this bitch. Considering the amount of times he’s made me watch that dumpster fire of a movie, you’d think I’d actually know what it’s about by now, but alas-” 

“Dave.” 

Oh shit you went way off topic there, like your train of thought completely derailed before it was even halfway towards the station. That poor conductor and all that cargo will never get where it’s going because you went off in a tangent, though to be fair you do that often and your tangents are always fucking awesome, the train shouldn’t even be surprised. You bet it has a schedule by now, is all ‘oh look it’s almost time for our regularly scheduled Dave Derail, better get ready to fucking crash from all that sick wisdom he spits’. Yeah, your train of thought is fucking sick.

“DAVE.”

Rose is staring at you as you smile to yourself about how fucking rad you are. The loud call of your name manages to snap you out it, and your face drops back to stoic. “I believe I may already have a diagnosis for your case.” She says simply, as if it was the easiest thing in the world to figure out. It probably was, your sister is good at what she does. Not that you'd ever say that to her face. Probably. 

“Oh god, give it to me straight Doc, how long do I have? Am I ever gonna get to go to DisneyWorld? Oh fuck, what am I gonna tell the kids? How are they going to survive in this world without their cool as fuck Dad to cater to their every need? Is there a cure, Doc? Please tell me there’s a cure!” Your sister sighs, exasperated by your bullshit, but you see her mouth quirked up in a smile. You see her.

“Now Dave, this might come as a shock to you, but have you ever wondered if you aren’t homophobic and are perhaps just jealous?”

The weight of her question only takes a moment to set in before you’re off again. “Jealous? What the fuck would I be jealous for? Karkat’s allowed to have friends over and bang everyone or whatever, I’m not jealous, I don’t care how much ass he gets.” Sure, maybe Karkat has more of a social life than you, but you’re not jealous of that. Your small circle is enough for you.

“I didn’t mean you’re jealous of him, Dave. I mean you’re jealous of everyone else who gets to spend time with him.”

You hesitate for a second. Why would you be jealous of his friends? You live with the man, for fucks sake! You see him every day, you spend loads of time together. “Before you go off again, I’m not saying that in a friendship way. It’s obvious you wanna be closer to him. Would it be far off for me to assume that you may even harbor feelings for him?”

Oh fuck no. You’ve seen enough of Karkat’s shitty romcoms to know where this is going. You stand up, already walking towards the door. “Okay, nope, I’m out. Not dealing with this bullshit again.” 

Rose manages to snag your arm and she tugs you back, also getting up and standing in front of you. “Despite what my past teasing might lead you to believe, I’m serious. I was serious the other times too, Dave. I genuinely believe you might be in love with Karkat.” Now it’s your turn to have the audacity to be rude. You tear your arm out of her grasp and step close enough to get the point across 

“Okay, woah, in love is definitely way too far and I’m definitely not ‘harboring feelings for him’. I know you’re a professional about this shit or whatever, and you usually know what you’re talking about, but I’m telling you, that isn’t it. I’m not gay and I’m certainly not gay for Karkat.”

You two stare at each other for a while, your shaded eyes locked with her stern lavender orbs. It’s a common battle of dominance between you too, but it’s not something playful at the moment. Eventually she sighs and steps away, and you continue you your abscond. “Can you at least think about it?”

You stop, hand on the door handle, and risk a glance back her way. despite what the common eye might miss, you know your sister. She truly wants you to consider the thought. She has your best intentions at heart, she wouldn’t tell you this if she weren’t serious. You turn away and stare down at the handle.

“Maybe.” You say as you step out of her apartment, letting the door shut behind you. You decide to just stop thinking about it. Can’t do any harm if its not on the mind, right?

 

 

You do not, in fact, stop thinking about it. It’s really all you can think about.

Days pass by just as normal as they had before these thoughts plagued your brain, but now everything is being viewed through rose fucking tinted glass because apparently you’re now the knight of romance or whatever the fuck. The point is, it’s been two weeks since your visit with Rose and you’ve realized certain things she said might actually just be the tiniest bit true. You realize the way you notice how, despite his aggressive and violent manner of talking, Karkat is extremely gentle and quite the cuddler. Despite not really being a touchy-feely kind of person, you welcome his warmth next to you on the couch on the movie nights you both frequently have. 

You recall an instance where you managed to set the toaster on fire and Karkat was screaming his head off at you as you laughed at his frustration. Surprisingly, he had joined in on the laughter too, though it had barely even been over your howling. As soon as you heard it though, your laughter was caught in your throat. It wasn’t like Karkat had never laughed before, but something about the way he had his head tilted back as he grasped the counter, his faced flushed from his prior yelling had you struggling to breathe. You try to tell yourself the lack of oxygen was from the constant laughter, but you know better at this point.

By the time your ass is deep in swirling, confusing feelings for your roommate, he’s started to notice your strange behavior. It’s not like you tried to show it, but after living with you for a year and being as close as you two are, it’s no wonder he can read you like an open fucking book. Deciding to pay a much needed visit to your brother before Karkat gets any more suspicious, you shoot him a quick text that you’re dropping by and get a reply of acknowledgement.

You call to Karkat as you get ready to leave if he needs anything from the store. You’re halfway out the door when his loud, scratchy voice shouts back, “YEAH, GET SOME FUCKING TRASH BAGS. WE NEVER SEEM TO HAVE ANY WITH THE COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF GARBAGE YOU CONSUME ON A DAILY BASIS.” You smile fondly at his remark as you close the door, letting it simmer instead of wiping it off immediately. Fuck, you really had it bad, didn’t you? 

Despite everything, you still didn’t know if you were sure, so came the responsibility of talking it out with you to the one you knew would understand.

 

 

Giving two sharp knocks to the door before stepping inside, you almost wish you could be surprised by the sheer amount of puppet ass that greets you. You are, however, surprised when your brother Dirk is actually there to greet you instead of being stowed away in his room doing fuck all to his robots. Seriously, he spends so much time on that shit. It’d be admirable if you knew jack shit about robots. He greets you with a ‘Hey’ and an ironic hair ruffling. You swat his hand away per usual and smooth down your part again before speaking.

“So, what brings you out of your room for a proper greeting? Last I checked, you barely leave you room to perform even the most basic of human needs.” Dirk gives you what you assume is an eye roll and gestures for you to follow him to the living room.

“Your message lacked the usual irony and rantiness I’ve come to expect from you as a Strider, I could only assume that means something is up.” 

You plop down on the couch with a groan and run a hand down your face dramatically. “This is even worse than the time you replaced my secret stash of apple juice with puppets, which yes, I am still traumatized by and will never forgive you for.” 

He sits next to you, still keeping a comfortable distance. It made you ache for the close warmth of Karkat’s head laying on your shoulder woah holy shit that came out of nowhere. “That’s fair. So, what’s up? It’s not anything life threatening, right? You’re okay?” 

You groan again and shove his shoulder. “No, asshole, physically, I’m fine. I just… have a question I guess?” “Then shoot.” Staring down at your lap, you swallow your nerves and let your mouth move faster than your brain.

“How did you know you were… gay.”

As much of a question as it is, you don’t state it like one. Dirk actually looks surprised for a second. “Well, uh, guess I wasn’t expecting that. Alright, yeah, okay. So you know I pretty much have the same friends I did back when I was younger. I spent most of my time either on the internet or working on robots, so it was only a matter of time before I realized ladies didn’t have the same appeal to me as men. If you’re asking more about my experiences, well, you know how it went with Jake.” 

It’s hard not to notice how he tenses up remembering those times, despite them being years in the past and all mistakes long since forgiven. You nudge his shoulder with your own and give him a reassuring look over your glasses. He nods and continues.

“I don’t know when it started, but it was if everything about him was being watched by me through rose fucking tinted glass. He was so kind, trusting and funny, I fell hard and fast.” 

“Can you give me any details? Not the gross kind fuck no I never wanna hear that but like what were the moments that made you really know you fell for him?” Noticing at some point during the conversation you folded your hands and placed them under your chin as you leaned on your elbows like some kind of fucking investigator pondering his next move or some shit, you move them down to your lap and sit up straight. You’re not that invested in this, hell no.

Dirk fiddled a bit with his glasses, a Strider habit. “I remember I was telling him about the dreams I’d had of us going on adventures and shit and how they’d felt so real, and then he told me he had experienced something similar too. I asked him why he was so sure I wasn’t just bullshitting me and he told me that I had never given him a reason not to trust me, so why wouldn’t he? And that made my go doki doki in all the right places.” 

A groan once again leaves your throat. “Man that was actually kind of cute until you ruined it with your anime bullshit.” He simply chuckles and sits back. You can feel the question before he even opens his mouth.

“So, why the sudden interest in my love life? Is there something you’re trying to tell me?” Even though you’re both wearing sunglasses indoors, he can tell when you’re avoiding his gaze.

“I may be having some sort of crisis and figured coming to you would be the best choice since it happens to relate to something you also experience also because hey you’re my brother and I don’t see you as much as I should and I kinda just crawled in here and started probing you for questions without even asking how you’re doing-”

“Dave.” You turn to look at him for real. “I know you’re probably nervous right now but rambling nonsense isn’t going to help. What do you have to tell me?” 

You take a deep breath and try to come to terms with the fact that this is occurring. “I think I might be gay for Karkat.” Is what you rush out. 

Not even two seconds pass before Dirk asks, “Your roommate?” and you nod.

“It’s kinda been this whole thing for awhile but I didn’t realize because I stupidly thought I was just being homophobic but turns out I’m actually just jealous of his friends? Like I know I live with him and we’re close and shit but I wanna be closer and not in the friend way. I very much wanna get it on with him like in every shitty rom-com he makes me watch. Did I ever tell you that? That ball of anger is actually the biggest romantic sweetheart I have ever met and its fucking adorable.” Somehow you don’t notice the fond tone in your voice or the small smile creeping its way onto your face until you see Dirk smirking at you from the corner of your eye.

“Fuck, I really have it bad, don’t I?” You say with your flushed face buried in your hands. He gives you an awkward brotherly pat on the back.

“That you do, Dave. From what I’m hearing, it seems you’ve already accepted your feelings for Karkat. I don’t mind the impromptu visit, but it sounds like you have this figured out.” Your brother is right, you kinda had accepted the fact that you were hella gay for your roommate. It had been on your mind consistently for two weeks after all. 

“I know, I guess I do. Sometimes it’s just better to hear it from someone else though, you know? Someone who won’t overanalyze the situation and make you have a sexuality crisis over your hot and adorably loud roommate at the ripe age of twenty-two.” 

Dirk doesn’t bother to hide his small smirk. “Rose, I’m guessing?” The mention of your sister’s name sends a nasty feeling of Bad down your spine. You definitely still needed to talk to her. 

With a grumble of “Maybe” you sink dramatically into the couch. The other Strider simply snickers and stands up, heading to the kitchen. You peek up at him over your sunglasses as he walks by. “Are you kicking me out now?” He doesn’t respond and instead takes an annoyingly loud sip of coffee with one eyebrow raised. It was probably cold considering how long it had sat on the counter. 

“You can’t put it off any longer, Dave it’ll only suck more. Trust me when I say I know.” After crumbling off the couch with a sigh equally as loud and annoying as his previous sip, you head towards the door, dodging your brothers hand with a grin as he tries to muss up your hair. 

“Thanks for listening to my gay ramblings, bro.” He pulls down his shades and winks. “Just returning the favor.” You snort at your lame sibling and abscond the fuck outta there.

 

 

After taking your sweet ass time going to the store and getting home, you stand outside the shared apartment fumbling with your keys as you hold up your phone between your cheek and shoulder. “I know, Rose, I’m the douchiest douche of all the douches, I’m the Knight of Douchiness. Wait no, fuck that, I’m the Lord of Douchiness. Do you forgive me yet?”

As much as you wanted to talk to Rose in person about this, she was getting ready for a date with Kanaya and you weren’t about to barge in on their sweet romance time. Both of them were somewhat of workaholics, respectively, so you knew better than to involve yourself when they had alone time. 

Speaking of alone time, Karkat had texted you earlier saying Terezi requested his presence or whatever and both of you knew there was no way getting around that girl. You either showed up willingly or she dragged your ass there. It may or may not have put a damper on your plans, but you were made of nothing but time, baby. 

Busting into your apartment, you put Rose on speaker to save quality hand space and make your way to the kitchen. Setting everything down on the counter, you prepare yourself to make the best Teriyaki chicken and noodles the world has ever had the pleasure of tasting. Karkat had made it for the both of you once and it was one of the most orgasmic things that has ever touched your tongue, you could bust a nut at just the thought. That’s why you hoped you’d impress Karkat with mad cooking and perception skills. Rose’s voice filters out from your phone as you bustle around the kitchen.

“Dave I forgave you the moment you walked out my front door, you’re the one who deemed it necessary to beg me for forgiveness. I’m simply basking in the glow of being right all along.” You purposefully make the effort to bang the pots and pans around so she knows just how much you are not paying attention to her gloating. 

“I’d love to praise you for being observant enough to realize my gay feelings before even I did, but frankly, you’re already so high on your pedestal of “Realizing Things About Dave Before He Does” I’m afraid you’d just never come down.” 

Placing a pot of water on the stove, you add salt and crank up the heat before continuing. “Honestly Rose, its like you enjoy watching me suffer. Instead of grabbing me by the shoulders and drilling it into my head that I’m probably not straight and am also probably into my roommate, you had to draw out our sessions by letting me go off and confuse myself even further. You’re psycho-analytical bullshit is too much for me all of the time, and that says a lot cause I’m practically made of the shit.”

“Dave?”

Wow, you have really got to stop getting distracted by your own word expeditions. You turn away from the stove and sure enough there your roommate is in all his glory. It was uncharacteristic of you to not hear the door open, but perhaps you couldn’t over all the banging you were doing. Karkat, of course, was probably trying not to interrupt your conversation, being the good fucking person he is.

“Karkat. You’re home.”

Rose says something over the phone but you hang up before she can finish, not breaking eye contact with the boy before you. His cheeks have a tint to them, and he’s looking at you with wide eyes. You can only assume he heard everything. “I can explain-” “Is it true?” He interrupts you and your mouth snaps shut as you turn away from his piercing gaze, feeling your cheeks heating up. 

It’s silent, and the air is thick with tension. He’s waiting, but you can’t bring yourself to say anything. Your sight is getting hazy and unfocused as your breaths shorten from the thought of rejection, or worse. 

Then, to make the situation just downright miserable, the water begins to boil over, and in a panic to get it off the burner some of the water sloshes onto your hand and you curse as you drop the pot. Liquid pools over the counter and descends over the cupboards, but you barely comprehend it. Something is guiding you to the living room and then you’re sitting down. You grip your injured hand carefully and try to regulate your breathing. It’s not long until you hear someone call your name softly, and you look over to see Karkat kneeling next to you. 

“I got a damp towel for your burn. I’m gonna put it on, okay?” You nod stiffly, and flinch once it makes contact. 

Once it’s safely wrapped he asks a question you’ve heard many times before. “Can I touch your face?” You nod again, and try not to flinch this time when his hand makes contact with your cheek. Karkat’s touch is light and gentle, something you’ve come to associate with him. Not having been used to such tender contact, you were startled when he first laid his hand upon your face; over time, it grew into a comforting motion for the both of you. You lean into his touch and let out a shaky sigh. Panic attacks are not an uncommon occurrence for either of you, but you can’t say you aren’t a little embarrassed by what caused this one. 

“You okay?” He asks after a short while. You mutter out a “yeah” and he takes his hand away, pulling himself up onto the couch next to you. Allowing your head to rest on his shoulder, you prepare yourself for what is sure to be a feelings jam.

There’s silence again, only this time it’s less awkward until Karkat speaks up again. “I had a crush on John in highschool.” Definitely not the what you were expecting, but Karkat continues before you can think about it much longer. 

“At the time, I didn’t realize it wasn’t a crush, but instead a lame feeling of trying to hate him or something? But you and I both fucking know John is impossible to hate and also painfully straight.” You snort at that. 

“Who I really hated was you, though. John never stopped fucking going on about you, and I was jealous of the fact that some sunglasses-wearing douchenozzle miles away had a better relationship than the one I had with him. And then one day you showed up with your narcissistic ass brony brother and ruined everything for me.” 

“Hey that’s not-” 

“Don’t interrupt me, fuckass. As I was saying, you strutted into my life irony and all and over time I eventually grew not to despise your flat ass. Then we graduated and you offered to room with me and I developed… more romantic feelings.” He trailed off, and left you to look at him with wide eyes that he obviously couldn’t see behind your shades. 

“You like me?” He tenses up. 

“Did you not hear anything I just said you asswhapping dickmunch?! What do you think?!” 

“Like… like-like?”

“Jesus Christ Dave, what are you, twelve?!” You grin at him and he cuts off his spiel with a “harumph” and a cross of his arms. Draping your arms over him, making sure to be careful of your burn, you nuzzle his cheek with yours. 

“Aw Karkles, why didn’t you tell me sooner? We could’ve been skipping through fields of flowers and shoving food in each others faces by now.” He elbows you in the stomach, though not hard, and his cheeks flush darker. 

“Care to remind me just why I’m attracted to you?” 

“You just couldn’t resist the Strider charm, baby.” 

“I take it back. You’re the worst and I hate you.” You just laugh and squeeze him tighter. He goes quiet, and then mumbles 

“Does this mean we’re dating?” 

Placing a dramatic, wet kiss on his cheek, complete with a loud “mwah”, you reply. “Fuck, it sure does. We’re doing this bro, we’re making this happen.” Karkat pushes you off him and you fall back on the couch. 

“I’m breaking up with you for that.”

You just laugh, far too giddy to think of something clever in response. Your boyfriend, God it feels so good to say that, is smiling too, all red cheeks and squished eyes, and your heart swells. The plan went to shit and dinner will probably end up being five dollar pizza, but you wouldn’t change it for the world.

**Author's Note:**

> the ending is rushed but i really just wanted 2 finish this  
> i also didn't read it over so if there are errors my bad  
> follow me on tumblr for art: http://kushwarrior666.tumblr.com


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